Experts are warning that a viral social media campaign which promises participants numerous free gifts in exchange for sending just one to another recipient is actually an illegal hoax.

The 'Secret Sister' gift exchange has been gaining traction on Facebook and Instagram since October. Modeled off the idea of Secret Santa, the exchange promises women even more rewards than a typical anonymous one-to-one holiday gift swap: By sending just one present to another woman, each participant is told that they can expect up to 36 goodies of their own.

Unfortunately, several experts warn that those who try to participate won't get what they're promised - and by joining in, they'll be involved in illegal activity.

Pyramid scheme: Experts are warning that the Secret Sister gift exchange being popularized on social media is a pyramid scheme that can't sustain iteself

You give and you get: Unwitting participants are told to send one gift to a woman at the top of the list and then invite six more women; soon, they will get up to 36 gifts of their own

Promotions for the Secret Sister exchange began appearing on social media late last month, with only slightly varying descriptions of the same program.

Participants - likely unaware that they are participating in a pyramid scheme – have been sharing messages on Facebook and Instagram inviting friends and followers to join in.

The first step listed by most asks potential participants to comment on the post and express their interest in the program. They are then told that they will be sent a private message from the instigator, who will share more specific details about the scheme, including the list of people participating. The new ‘secret sisters’ are then asked to send a gift of at least $10 in value to the person at the top of the list which has been sent to them.

Then, participants are directed to remove that woman from the list, bumping up the second name to the top. They then add their own name - and mailing address - to the second spot on the list.

Finally, perpetuating the scheme, they are directed to send the updated list to at least six other women, who are directed to do the same.

Each woman is promised that they will start receiving 36 gifts of their own within two weeks.

'What a deal, 36 gifts for giving just one!' reads one of these online chain letters.

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The mechanics: The idea is that the six people you invite will send gifts to the woman who invited you - and then they'll each invite six more women, for 36 total, who will send you gifts

Doesn't work: However, while some people definitely benefit, the scheme is not mathematically sustainable, meaning there aren't enough participants for people at the bottom to get their 36 gifts

Of course, if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is - as is the case for this deceptive campaign.

WHAT IS TITLE 18, UNITED STATES CODE, SECTION 1302?

According to the Code of Federal Regulations (published by Cornell University Law School), it is unlawful to 'knowingly' send by mail 'any letter, package, postal card, or circular concerning any lottery, gift enterprise, or similar scheme offering prizes dependent in whole or in part upon lot or chance'.

Those who violate this can be fined and/or imprisoned for up to two years.

This idea isn't new - in fact, chain letters with similar instructions have existed for decades, and were previously sent through snail mail.

Like the hard copy chain letters before it, experts say Secret Sister is a pyramid scheme, a bottom-up system that rewards the initial players but can't mathematically sustain itself.

That means that the now-unknown people who created Secret Sister - and even a bunch of the early participants - may very well have received 36 gifts each. But as more and more people are recruited to join in, later participants are very unlikely to receive anything after sending off their own gifts because there simply aren't enough people to deliver.

'As the gifts start to flow, early entrants may benefit. However, for everyone to receive what they’ve been promised, each layer of the pyramid must attract new recruits. It’s mathematically impossible to sustain,' Paul Krenn, a spokesman for the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) told BuzzFeed.

The goods: Some women have been flaunting their hauls on social media, perpetuating the idea that Secret Sister works flawlessly

Just a few: There don't seem to be many - or any - people who've actually gotten 36 gifts

He added: 'The odds are likely greater that Santa Claus, himself, would fly his sleigh into the middle of Times Square to personally distribute the gifts.'

While it's true that some women have taken to Instagram to show off the gifts they received - and they very well may be genuine - Snopes has pointed out that there has been no evidence so far of anyone actually getting 36 packages in the mail.

Snopes also stressed the illegality of Secret Sister and 'get rich quick' chain letters like it, which violate the US's Postal Lottery Statute (Title 18, United States Code, Section 1302).

'There's at least one problem with chain letters,' the USPIS website explains. 'They're illegal if they request money or other items of value and promise a substantial return to the participants. Chain letters are a form of gambling, and sending them through the mail (or delivering them in person or by computer, but mailing money to participate) violates.'

Illegal: The USPIS warns that Secret Sister is actually illegal, since it involves sending things of monetary value through the mail in the hopes that you will get more back

Limited analytical thinking: Most participants don't seem to be malicious, just naïve - many likely don't understand the mechanics of the pyramid scheme

While the advertisements and incitements for Secret Sister are shared online, the actual mailing of the gifts in question are often done through the United States Postal Service, which puts the scheme under the statue's jurisdiction.

'Regardless of what technology is used to advance the scheme, if the mail is used at any step along the way, it is still illegal,' the USPIS added.

So while many girls and women who are joining in are likely just naïve, they are actually unwittingly perpetuating illegal activity.

Falling for this scheme could also make people a target for future schemes. Speaking to KTRK-TV Houston, North Carolina Attorney General spokesperson Noelle Talley said: 'We see that a lot with different types of fraud where once people have fallen for one kind of scam that their name and contact information gets sold to other people and that they get solicitations for other kinds of scams.'

Not only is it illegal to participate, but those who do may find themselves targets of other schemes by opportunists who wish to capitalize on their trusting and foolish thinking

Nonbelievers: Some simple-minded people are even firing back at experts warning against the scheme, saying that since it worked for them it can't possibly be dangerous

Unfortunately, despite warnings, some women are still participating - and even claiming the 'media' blew the problem out of proportion.

'Five more #secretsister gifts arrived today,' wrote one woman. 'Too bad the media panicked the public over a simple gift-giving game.'

Most who are defending the 'game' don't seem to understand that it is a smaller-scale version of pyramid schemes that have bankrupted innocent people in the past, like the one conducted by convicted felon Bernie Madoff.

Throughout his famous Ponzi scheme, several people did, in fact, make money - but substantially more lost millions, their retirement funds, and much of their savings.